Why does Dak Prescott say 'here we go'? Exploring Cowboys QB’s viral snap cadence

Dak Prescott has made the "Here we go!" cadence popular with the Dallas Cowboys. It's unique among teams and has become customary for him to use this season since Mike McCarthy took over play calling after the firing of former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

While there are various cadences used by quarterbacks, generally it follows a color and then a number before the snap. So, usual calls could sound like "Green 80, Set Hut!" Some quarterbacks use their own calls. Notable among them is the "Omaha" call from Peyton Manning.

So, what does the "Here we go!" call mean. We try to decode its meaning.

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"Here we go!": Dak Prescott brings wrinkles to his cadence to get the Cowboys going

Dak Prescott has been electric this season. He has 23 passing touchdowns to just six interceptions. Three of them came in a game against the San Francisco 49ers, in what can now be categorized as an aberration.

It's not completely clear what "Here we go!" refers to. That's not surprising, as a cadence contains hidden instructions, and no offense is going to reveal its meaning to opposition teams. However, we can take a guess.

Generally when a quarterback uses a call like "Green 80", the color and the number signify something to the players on offense. It allows pass protections to move one way.

It might signify to the receivers to take a different route. It might ask the running back to either run through center or go wide based on how the pass protection is moving on a run-play.

What "Here we go!" could do, and this is pure conjecture, is add another layer ahead of the snap. Generally, Dak Prescott adds a "Yeah" before that. So, that could act as a signifier of what the next call means. When it's not there, it might mean something else. After this unique cadence, he might go for an immediate snap or add the traditional color number combination.

Therefore, instead of just pass protection and routes, he could convey many other things with his cadence. For example, "Yeah" could signify whether they are going with the primary or secondary play.

"Here we go!" could signify whether the next color number combination appears in the order of pass protection and route or opposite of that. So, the last snap count could be hurried because Dak Prescott has already adjusted his play before that point.

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Is this cadence just for this season?

This cadence has come in just this season, and the question is whether this will remain.

While we do not know that, the cadence itself does not signify any play. Rather it potrays adjustments to the other players on offense based on what the quarterback sees from the opposite defense.

Before every game, the Dallas Cowboys could vary the meaning of "Yeah" and "Here we go!". That's something Peyton Manning used to do with "Omaha" as well. Even though it was used quite frequently, defenses could not figure out what it meant during each situation.

The quarterback also has the option of assigning a momentary meaning to his cadence when he's the huddle.

So it's more than likely that the play will remain and become part of Dak Prescott's repertoire.

He could try to keep adding meaning to it so that the words are the same that the listeners hear but the defenses cannot figure out what's coming. As an aside, since it adds another layer to his cadence, it can help him draw defenses offside as well who might be following it, especially during hard counts.

It looks this might become a signature play for the Cowboys quarterback going forward.